Elodie was awoken from her dreams a third time, although this time it felt as if her lungs were being compressed. With a sharp gasp of pain, she broke through the barriers of her binding and into the world of the living, where she found herself floating in the tallest tower of the castle that was once her home.

"Elodie?" said Mario's voice.

She tried to search for her hero, but a white film obstructed her eyes. After a brief moment of furious blinking, however, she was greeted by the form of a huge dragon sprawled across the ground. It extremities were still twitching.

"Hooktail," whispered Elodie. The dragon had long attempted to infest Arthur's castle when they had been alive—it was only thanks to Arthur's strength and leadership that it had not succeeded. The creature had probably wasted no time in occupying the beacon once they were gone.

But now, her champion had defeated the dragon.

Her eyes shining with pride, Elodie lowered herself to the ground, where Mario was standing with Goombella and two other men—one of them was middle-aged yet confident. The other was a young man, scrawny and timid.

Smiling, Elodie looked at Mario and said, "I see you have found yourself another companion."

Mario nodded and gestured the young man forward. The teen did so, yet it was hesitantly. As he shuffled forward, Mario exclaimed, "Koops, this is Elodie. She is the spirit bound to the Magical Map; she will be our guide throughout the journey. Elodie, this is Koops. He lives in Petalburg."

"Petalburg!" exclaimed Elodie excitedly. "It has survived all these years? Tell me, Koops, I beg you—how fares the kingdom?"

Koops seemed startled by being directly addressed by a spirit, but he stammered nonetheless, "K-kingdom? It's not really a kingdom anymore, it's—it's a small village now, but it's doing fine. Very peaceful, as it has always been. Hooktail had been wreaking havoc over us, but Mario put a stop to that… But Petalburg still stands. It's a very nice place."

Hearing this, Elodie was delighted. She would often take her children to Petalburg if they ever wished to get out of the castle or spend time with their friends that lived there. Even if it was but a shadow of what it once had been, the fact that Petalburg had survived over ten centuries was enough to bring her newfound hope.

Elodie knew that she could not cry as a spirit—but had she been alive, she knew that tears would be filming in her eyes.

"How comforting," she whispered, a smile upon her face. "Thank you, Koops."

Koops grinned too; it was the most confident Elodie had seen him yet. "My pleasure, my lady."

Elodie couldn't help but laugh at that… while it only seemed that she'd heard the title yesterday, it had been a thousand years since she was addressed as such. She decided she quite liked the Petalburg lad.

Remembering, however, that she might not have much time to speak to Mario, she turned towards him and asked, "You have retrieved the Diamond Star?"

In answer, Mario held out the glimmering silver star—the star that had been her daughter's favorite. Seeing it, Elodie was half-repulsed, yet still relieved.

"Good," she sighed, forcing herself to smile. "And… I am sorry, but I must ask… Did you find a black chest within the castle?"

Mario's face darkened somewhat, but he nodded.

"Did the spirit inside curse you?"

Another nod.

Elodie exhaled and momentarily turned away from her hero. At least now she knew… Arthur's spirit was finally free.

"Thank you," she whispered back to Mario. "That spirit has had to wait for a thousand years to be released. Despite what you might think, the black chests you see throughout your journey are trying to help you."

"Help?" burst out Goombella, her brown eyes narrowed. "They cursed us!"

Elodie nodded. "Yes, they have. But you would not have made it far without their curses. Think about it, Goombella… you would not have even found the Thousand-Year Door without that first black chest, would you?"

There was a silence as the three processed these words. After another moment, Mario said, "Worse things could have happened. And Elodie is right. We wouldn't have made it here without those… spirits, I believe you said."

Grateful for his comment, Elodie smiled and murmured, "Thank you for understanding."

Another brief silence occurred, until Koops asked, "So, uh… Lady Elodie… where is the next Crystal Star?"

"In order to see where it lies, you must first take the Diamond Star to the Thousand-Year Door," Elodie answered. "The Door is like the key to the Map, which has upon it a great spell that shall direct you to each Crystal Star in the order that they were once recovered from their maker. I thought it would be the most efficient way to guide our champion for when their quest would begin."

Goombella and Koops both seemed appeased—but, to Elodie's surprise, it was Mario who frowned while asking, "Will this next Crystal Star lead me to Princess Peach?"

Elodie blinked. What was she to say?

"I cannot tell," she answered honestly. "Since this one has not, I would say there is a possibility. But… Mario, if you truly wish for my opinion… I do not think you shall see your princess for a while."

"What makes you say that?"

Elodie exhaled slowly. She knew that if she did not say the truth now, then he may never forgive her later.

"I… I was awoken by your Princess Peach when she first collected the Map. She found it; I was revived… She told me she was sending it to you, but before she was returned to safety, an old enemy of mine stole her away. I tried to help her escape, but I was incredibly weak. I could not prevent her capture. I'm sorry."

Mario watched Elodie intently as she spoke. When it was clear she was finished, he glared at the ground and said nothing.

Sensing his anger, she added, "I regret not telling you earlier, Mario. I hope you may yet forgive me."

"I will," he answered, but he would not look at her. "But I had hoped for better news."

"I understand," murmured Elodie, but her heart sank. This is what she had been afraid of. "If it comforts you at all, I promise you will find her at the end of this quest, if not during it."

There was a very unhelpful disquiet… Elodie wished Mario would say something. She dearly desired to know what he was thinking, if there was any way she could get him to trust her again.

But she was given nothing.

Strangely enough, it was Goombella who came to Elodie's rescue.

"Well, Mario, at least we know we'll find her. It just might take more time than we anticipated."

Mario glanced at Goombella, who offered him a small smile. He seemed to relax slightly upon seeing it, albeit he was not his usual self just yet. Nonetheless, he sighed, looked Elodie in the eye, and said, "Thank you for telling me now, Elodie. At least now I know."

Elodie smiled, though the gesture was sad. "Of course, Mario… Now, you three best return to Petalburg to refresh and regroup before you set off for the Thousand-Year Door. Your journey is only beginning."

At this, Mario chuckled. "I have to agree with you there."

"Yes," laughed Elodie. "Yes, I'm afraid you must. But I believe in you, my champion. You have bested Hooktail, a beast who long terrorized my home whilst I was alive. This shows me your strength and fortitude, and only strengthens my certainty in you. This is a good omen."

Mario smiled sideways and looked back to the ground, yet said nothing.

At that moment, Elodie felt her form flicker—she knew that her time was waning once again. Knowing that she would not be able to speak to her champion until the Emerald Star was collected, Elodie exclaimed, "Mario, if you have any more questions, ask them quickly. I can feel myself fading…"

He thought for only a moment before asking, "What are the spirits in those black chests?"

Elodie's smile faltered; a shard of ice settled deep in her stomach, and the look upon her face became one of immense sorrow. "They are the spirits of my four friends. The first you located was a great and wise friend of mine, Ingrid. The one you have most recently released… was my husband. If our plan had progressed the way we intended a thousand years ago, it would have been I inside that black box. But alas, Arthur…"

She could not finish.

Mario, Goombella, and Koops all wore identical looks of sympathy. It was the former who said, "I'm sorry, Elodie."

"Do not be," she replied softly. "Before long, I pray, I will see him again."

"Arthur was your husband?" asked Goombella softly.

Elodie nodded. "Yes… I loved him very dearly." With these words, she felt herself growing fainter and fainter. She knew that the others could see how close she was to disappearing as well, and quickly said, "I must again thank you for releasing him after all this time. I shall be the last one you release, but that is a long while from now. Do not worry, my champions—I will be here to guide you for as long as you need me."

And before any more questions could be asked, Elodie's translucent eyes closed, and she was again swallowed by the void.